I've spent the last couple of weekends getting the engine and fuel systems ready for the upcoming season. The next couple of weeks will be spent getting the rest of the boat cleaned up and ready to go. The engine is a 1999 Yamaha EFI.
Fuel Lines
I decided it might be a good idea to install all new fuel lines in the boat and engine. The existing fuel lines are coming up on 10 years old and have had a couple of years of E-10 gas. A guy at my marina has a similar vintage engine and had problems last year due to deteriorating fuel lines causing micro-leaks and sporadic engine problems. So I bit the bullet and came up with the long parts list of replacements from Andy at SIM.
I ran all new 3/8" ID Type A fuel line back from the tank to the Racor Fuel / Water separator. I decided it would be a good time to install a fuel shutoff valve at the Racor, in the event that my anti-siphon valve fails, or I choose to remove it in the future. The first time I changed my fuel/water separator, I discovered that without a shutoff valve or anti-siphon valve there would be nothing to stop the gas from coming out once I removed the filter.
I also decided it would be a good idea to plumb in the secondary input to the Racor, in the event that I want to troubleshoot an engine problem, or run off a small pony tank to decarb the engine. See picture below, I got the idea from another member of CP. Right now the secondary input just has a plug, as I will figure out what I want to attach later.
From the Racor I installed a new Yamaha fuel primer bulb and then replaced all of the internal fuel lines in the engine, including the very $$$ high-pressure fuel lines that run from the VST tank to the fuel rail. Had I known how much these 'custom' fuel lines were from Yamaha, I don't think I would have bothered as the originals were in good shape. I also found out later that I probably could have saved a good deal of $$ by ordering a section of the appropriately sized fuel injector line 'off the shelf'. Lesson learned.
As I replaced the fuel lines, I replaced the two low pressure fuel pumps, as they were due.
Fuel Filters
As part of my yearly spring ritual and after 100 hours of run time, I always change the Racor filter, the inline engine mounted filter and clean out the VST filter. The VST filter can be a real pain in the neck to clean, but this tedious task has become a necessity since we have switched to the Ethanol fuel.
Since I was replacing the high pressure fuel lines, I also decided to get brave and remove the fuel rail and inspect/clean the fuel injector filters. These are the green thimble shaped filters that are mounted at the end of the injectors themselves. I'm glad I did, as I found that they were also fairly dirty with the same type of silvery powder that gunks up the VST tank.
Since I had the VST tank completely removed along with all the other hoses, I also went in and cleaned out the pressure regulator filter. This is a small filter about the size of a pea that feeds excess gas back into the VST tank from the injectors. It was also fairly clogged up with the mystery silver powder.
The VST filter needed to be cleaned, no surprise there, and I also checked the needle valve and float assembly to make sure it was in good shape.
Water Pump / Cooling System
I've got two full seasons on the water pump (about 400 hours) so I changed it out. No surprises there as I had done it before based on some very detailed step-by-steps I have found on the Florida Sportsman board.
Changed out both the T-Stats, no surprises there.
Also cleaned out the Pressure Control Valve (poppit valve) and installed the new style mushroom head and grommet. Of all the projects that I went through, this one should have been the easiest, but instead gave me the most grief. I removed the PCV cover and scraped off the old gasket material from the engine block with a putty knife. Installed the new PCV parts and bolted the cover back on.
Fired the engine up for the first time since completing all of the above projects with my heart pounding. Luckily there were no major problems with the fuel system, other than the fact that I had a small gas leak at the VST tank, due to trying to save the $35 and reuse the VST gasket. So I had to go in and re-do the whole VST process.. drain the tank, loosen the screws, remove the tank, replace the gasket with a new one and button the whole thing up again. Lesson learned.
What I did notice was a small leak at the PCV cover. Didn't think anything of it, and decided that I must not have tightened up the bolts enough. Tightened them both up, restarted the motor and had the same leak. This is where I goofed up.. rather than thinking about it, I wanted to wrap things up and tried to tighten up the bolts even more. Snap.. and my heart starts pounding like it does when you realize you have really screwed up. Lucky for me the bolt hole for the PCV cover isn't threaded, so I could remove the cover and had enough of the broken bolt left to remove fairly easily with a pair of vice grips.
While waiting a week for the replacement bolt, I realize that the reason I had a leak is that there was a couple of small pieces of the old gasket still attached to the PCV cover. Because the cover stays attached to the water line, it stayed in the engine and I hadn't noticed, and this is what caused my leak. Lesson learned.
To add insult to injury I actually snapped the other bolt when reinstalling the new one because my torque wrench wasn't working. Luckily the local shop had ordered a backup and I was back in business after a half-hour. Lesson learned.
Tune / Synch & Link
As part of my regular spring and 100hr maintenance, I also removed the O2 density sensor and draw tube and gave them a good cleaning. The sensor itself has been in good shape since I started regular cleaning, but the outside of the draw tube gets completely gunked up with carbon, so I need to keep staying on top of it.
Did the usual check of the oil control rod, Fuel Rail pressure, Throttle Position Sensor and Winky Blinky diagnostic light and all was good.
Zincs / Trim Tabs
I had to swap out some of the engine mounted zincs as they were starting to get chewed up pretty badly. Also replaced the trim tab zincs as they get about 90% eaten in a season. Checked the trim tab hydraulic fluid and am good to go.
All thats left now is to pull the boat from the yard to the driveway so that I can clean her up and get her ready for another season.
If I have time I am also going to mount a stainless grab handle to the top of the transom right in front of the swim platform to make it a little easier to get back in the boat. I got the idea from a picture posted by another CP member here on the forum.
-- Tom
Fuel Lines
I decided it might be a good idea to install all new fuel lines in the boat and engine. The existing fuel lines are coming up on 10 years old and have had a couple of years of E-10 gas. A guy at my marina has a similar vintage engine and had problems last year due to deteriorating fuel lines causing micro-leaks and sporadic engine problems. So I bit the bullet and came up with the long parts list of replacements from Andy at SIM.
I ran all new 3/8" ID Type A fuel line back from the tank to the Racor Fuel / Water separator. I decided it would be a good time to install a fuel shutoff valve at the Racor, in the event that my anti-siphon valve fails, or I choose to remove it in the future. The first time I changed my fuel/water separator, I discovered that without a shutoff valve or anti-siphon valve there would be nothing to stop the gas from coming out once I removed the filter.
I also decided it would be a good idea to plumb in the secondary input to the Racor, in the event that I want to troubleshoot an engine problem, or run off a small pony tank to decarb the engine. See picture below, I got the idea from another member of CP. Right now the secondary input just has a plug, as I will figure out what I want to attach later.
From the Racor I installed a new Yamaha fuel primer bulb and then replaced all of the internal fuel lines in the engine, including the very $$$ high-pressure fuel lines that run from the VST tank to the fuel rail. Had I known how much these 'custom' fuel lines were from Yamaha, I don't think I would have bothered as the originals were in good shape. I also found out later that I probably could have saved a good deal of $$ by ordering a section of the appropriately sized fuel injector line 'off the shelf'. Lesson learned.
As I replaced the fuel lines, I replaced the two low pressure fuel pumps, as they were due.
Fuel Filters
As part of my yearly spring ritual and after 100 hours of run time, I always change the Racor filter, the inline engine mounted filter and clean out the VST filter. The VST filter can be a real pain in the neck to clean, but this tedious task has become a necessity since we have switched to the Ethanol fuel.
Since I was replacing the high pressure fuel lines, I also decided to get brave and remove the fuel rail and inspect/clean the fuel injector filters. These are the green thimble shaped filters that are mounted at the end of the injectors themselves. I'm glad I did, as I found that they were also fairly dirty with the same type of silvery powder that gunks up the VST tank.
Since I had the VST tank completely removed along with all the other hoses, I also went in and cleaned out the pressure regulator filter. This is a small filter about the size of a pea that feeds excess gas back into the VST tank from the injectors. It was also fairly clogged up with the mystery silver powder.
The VST filter needed to be cleaned, no surprise there, and I also checked the needle valve and float assembly to make sure it was in good shape.
Water Pump / Cooling System
I've got two full seasons on the water pump (about 400 hours) so I changed it out. No surprises there as I had done it before based on some very detailed step-by-steps I have found on the Florida Sportsman board.
Changed out both the T-Stats, no surprises there.
Also cleaned out the Pressure Control Valve (poppit valve) and installed the new style mushroom head and grommet. Of all the projects that I went through, this one should have been the easiest, but instead gave me the most grief. I removed the PCV cover and scraped off the old gasket material from the engine block with a putty knife. Installed the new PCV parts and bolted the cover back on.
Fired the engine up for the first time since completing all of the above projects with my heart pounding. Luckily there were no major problems with the fuel system, other than the fact that I had a small gas leak at the VST tank, due to trying to save the $35 and reuse the VST gasket. So I had to go in and re-do the whole VST process.. drain the tank, loosen the screws, remove the tank, replace the gasket with a new one and button the whole thing up again. Lesson learned.
What I did notice was a small leak at the PCV cover. Didn't think anything of it, and decided that I must not have tightened up the bolts enough. Tightened them both up, restarted the motor and had the same leak. This is where I goofed up.. rather than thinking about it, I wanted to wrap things up and tried to tighten up the bolts even more. Snap.. and my heart starts pounding like it does when you realize you have really screwed up. Lucky for me the bolt hole for the PCV cover isn't threaded, so I could remove the cover and had enough of the broken bolt left to remove fairly easily with a pair of vice grips.
While waiting a week for the replacement bolt, I realize that the reason I had a leak is that there was a couple of small pieces of the old gasket still attached to the PCV cover. Because the cover stays attached to the water line, it stayed in the engine and I hadn't noticed, and this is what caused my leak. Lesson learned.
To add insult to injury I actually snapped the other bolt when reinstalling the new one because my torque wrench wasn't working. Luckily the local shop had ordered a backup and I was back in business after a half-hour. Lesson learned.
Tune / Synch & Link
As part of my regular spring and 100hr maintenance, I also removed the O2 density sensor and draw tube and gave them a good cleaning. The sensor itself has been in good shape since I started regular cleaning, but the outside of the draw tube gets completely gunked up with carbon, so I need to keep staying on top of it.
Did the usual check of the oil control rod, Fuel Rail pressure, Throttle Position Sensor and Winky Blinky diagnostic light and all was good.
Zincs / Trim Tabs
I had to swap out some of the engine mounted zincs as they were starting to get chewed up pretty badly. Also replaced the trim tab zincs as they get about 90% eaten in a season. Checked the trim tab hydraulic fluid and am good to go.
All thats left now is to pull the boat from the yard to the driveway so that I can clean her up and get her ready for another season.
If I have time I am also going to mount a stainless grab handle to the top of the transom right in front of the swim platform to make it a little easier to get back in the boat. I got the idea from a picture posted by another CP member here on the forum.
-- Tom
